Greatest Gift
by cavlik97
Summary: After a heartbreaking end to a relationship, Tori finds herself thanking herself for all her friends...  Pairings are Tori and Andre, Beck and Jade, Robbie and Cat... First VicTORIous fic, plze be nice!
1. Move On

Burying her face in her pillow, Tori Vega gave another sniff. From her bedside, her sister, Trina, sighed heavily. Tori hadn't left her bed let alone her _room _in a week ever since she'd found her boyfriend cheating on her with her cousin. The cover story that kept her out of school was she was sick but most people knew the real story. Trina shook Tori lightly. 'Tori,' she said, trying to think of the right thing to say. 'You have to get out of bed! I know he was a jerk and I know that you're upset but you're never going to get over it unless you start getting on with your life!'

Tori sat up, wiping her eyes. 'But he said he _loved _me!'

Trina remembered that. She'd been there. Feeling a stab of rage towards Marcus, she shook her head. 'He never meant it, Tori. Look, everyone's worried about you.'

'Who's everyone?'

'Mum, Dad, me, Beck, Jade, Cat, Robbie, Andre...'

'Even Nives?'

Trina bit her lip. Yeah, their cousin had kinda fled LA after she and Marcus had been caught. Nives hadn't feared Tori...or even Trina. For that matter, most people suspected she feared Jade who had left a threatening message of her facebook page. Tori sniffed. 'Are Mum and Dad here?' She wrapped her arms around her legs, pulling them up to her chest. Trina shook her head. 'They're at work.' Her phone buzzed and she pulled it out of her pocket. It was from Robbie. _we're coming over. _ Trina smiled. 'The others are coming over...' she said. Tori managed a small smile. 'I guess I could see _them._'

Trina inwardly sighed in relief, getting up to make nachos. Tori sat on her bed, waiting for a while. She glanced over at her mirror. Ugh, she looked terrible. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were tear stained, her mascara smudged. Looking down at her clothes, Tori reminded herself to put her clothes for wash ASAP. She leaned back on the headboard of her bed, trying to ignore most likely to be the one hundredth text that Marcus had sent her, not to mention the calls. Tori reached out and checked the message. _its not what you thought. Call me, plze. _

Tori tightened her grip on the cellphone, narrowing her eyes. Liar. Did her really think she was that stupid?

'Hey, easy there, you're gonna crush that phone if you're not careful!'

Tori's head snapped up and she couldn't hide a laugh as her friends piled into the room. Andre was the first to give her a hug, Cat following, then Robbie and Beck...even Jade. Tori hugged them all back, glad to have them there and wondering why she'd ordered Trina to shut everyone out of her room. Oh yeah. Marcus and Nives.

'You okay?' Cat asked anxiously. Tori shrugged. 'Yes. And no. And no again.'

The others chuckled.

'Talked to him yet?' Beck asked, giving a short, quick look at Tori's phone. She shook her head firmly. 'I want to talk to Nives, first. She's my cousin. I want to know why she did it.'

Jade gave her a sympathetic nod. 'Hey, when are you coming back?' she asked suddenly. Cat nodded enthusiastically. 'Yeah, Robbie just found out he's a really, really good film maker! He's making a movie and Andre, Trina and Beck are in it! He needs singers and Jade and I are in it but, well...we need a lead...'

Tori laughed. 'You want me?'

'Yes!' the others chorused.

'I'm also doing music,' Andre pointed out. 'Please Tori?'

'It'll get my mind of things...' Tori said thoughtfully.

'Exactly!' Jade interrupted. 'You _have _to do it! Come on, please?'

Tori held her hands up as a 'stop' sign. 'Hey! Did I ever say no?'

There was a cheer and Tori found herself engulfed in more hugs. Her phone buzzed again and in the chaos, she saw the screen. From _Nives _it said. _you were never pretty or cool enough 4 him anyway. Deal w/ it. _

Suddenly, Tori felt like a movie wouldn't solve all her problems after all.


	2. You are

_**A/N: **_**Hey! Another story but this time it's VicTORIous! Like I said summary, pairings are Tori/Andre, Jade/Beck, Cat/Robbie, Trina/OC and of course, everyone/everyone else friendship, especially Tori/Jade which is emphasised in this chapter—R&R!**

_They'd been on a weekend road-trip in Beck's RV. Just to get to know all of them better...and to celebrate how well life was turning out. Even Trina was invited. Stumbling upon a carnival, they'd decided to indulge and spend an evening being little kids again, going on rollercoasters, shooting targets to win teddy bears and pig out on candyfloss and hot dogs. Hours after arriving at the carnival, the group, laughing, stumbled over each other to go towards the RV again. 'This has been the best weekend ever!' Cat said happily, skipping towards the truck before stopping abruptly. _

'_What is it?' Tori asked worriedly. Cat gulped. 'Nothing. Come on, let's go to the popcorn stand, I want some caramel popcorn.' _

'_What?' Tori said in confusion. 'No! Let's go, it's getting cold!' She briskly walked past Cat but stopped with sudden shock and horror at the sight before her. It was Marcus...he was kissing somebody. Tori stepped backwards, carefully watching to see if she knew the girl. Marcus pulled away from the 'girl' and with a sickening feeling, Tori saw her own cousin, Nives. Nives shook her head behind her shoulders. 'What about Tori? You said you loved her this afternoon.' _

_Marcus shrugged. 'Those were just words. I've got my popularity. Don't need 'er anymore, right?' _

_Tori struggled to keep her breath even. Her legs were trembling...she thought she was going to be sick. Suddenly, Nives gasped. 'Tori! Oh god...I, it's...' _

_Tori felt her breathing getting more and more ragged and she felt tears starting to prick her eyes. Marcus immediately stepped away from Nives. 'Tori! I...um...' _

'_How dare you!' Beck shouted. _

'_Shut up,' Marcus snapped back. 'You can't talk, you date an emo freak.' _

_Tori whirled round to face Marcus. 'You...' she began, her voice shaking in anger. _

_There was a blur of actions and then an enraged yell. Beck had lunged forwards and punched Marcus across the face, Andre following his actions, tackling Marcus to the ground. _

'_No, stop!' Tori cried. 'Andre, Beck...he's not worth it!' _

'_Shut up, you're not worth it!' Nives yelled. Tori staggered backwards. Took another step. And another. And another. Then she turned and ran. _

'_Tori, wait!' Cat cried. She made a move to run after her friend but Jade grabbed her arm. 'I'll go,' she said. She looked terribly close to tears herself. Without another word, she ran off into the darkness after Tori. _

'_Tori!' _

_Tori looked behind her, seeing Jade hurrying towards her. 'Tori, come back. Marcus and Nives will be gone by the time we get back.' _

_Tori shook her head, tears streaming down her face. 'What's wrong with me, Jade?' _

_Jade sighed, exasperated. 'You sound like Robbie.' _

'_I'm serious! What is it, why do all my relationships end up in the trash can? Is it my singing, is it...my grades, my singing...?' She broke down in tears and Jade stepped forward, grabbing her by her shoulders. 'TORI! There is __**nothing **__wrong with you. You are a beautiful, confident, smart, talented, amazing singer. Nobody could be like you, ever. If any guy, single or not, can't see that, there's something seriously wrong with them.' _

_Tori smiled, her bottom lip trembling. Jade wrapped her arms around her friend, walking her back to the RV. _

Jade glanced over at her friend from the driver's seat of her car. Tori was staring at Hollywood School of Arts. Jade reached over, putting a reassuring hand on Tori's shoulder. 'Come on. You'll be fine. Nives's gone home and Marcus won't get near you with us around.'

Tori breathed out. 'Thanks. Let's go?'

'Let's go.'

**A/N: Hope ya guys liked! It's my first VicTORIous fanfic so if anything's wrong—let me know ASAP! r&r!**


	3. New Challenge

_**A/N:**_** KK, another chapter then: just adding something in: I know Jade is not acting like, well...Jade but while watching through the series I noticed that Tori and Jade have a bit of a twisted friendship so I thought Jade might have Tori's back if something went wrong and vice versa. Just clearing it up! Enjoy!**

Life at Hollywood Arts was normal, not many people had heard about the details of the breakup, just that it had happened and everyone had the sense not to ask anything. Sikowitz's class was first but he wasn't there. The usual substitute teacher, Mr. Dolly, raised his eyebrows when Tori walked in but said nothing.

'Did I miss anything?' Tori asked in an undertone. Beck considered, then shook his head. 'Nope. Just Sikowitz pouring his problems onto us about his dying grandmother. That's probably why he ain't here today.'

Tori furrowed her eyebrows. 'You saying you didn't get any teaching?'

'Yup.'

'Pretty much.'

'Yeah, you could say that.'

'Mm hm.'

'What were we talking about?'

Everyone laughed as Cat looked up in confusion from her cellphone. Tori shook her head as they took their seats. 'Nothing, Cat, really. Don't worry.'

Cat looked put down but let it be. Once they'd sat down, Beck slid his arm around Jade. 'What exactly did you say to calm her down that night?' he asked curiously. Jade shrugged. 'Stuff.'

Beck raised his eyebrows. 'What stuff? I mean...' He was cut short when Jade glared at him. 'Stuff, okay? You don't need to know.'

'Okay, okay!' Beck said in surrender. 'Don't hurt me.'

Jade laughed quietly. 'I won't,' she said, kissing him.

'PLEASE KEEP AN AT LEAST TWO CENTIMETRE DISTANCE FROM OTHER CLASSMATES...OLIVER, WEST!'

The entire class nearly jumped out of their seats. With an annoyed scowl, Jade slid off Beck's lap to sit in the seat beside him, in between him and Cat. 'Sorry Mr. Never-Had-A-GF-In-My-Life-So-Won't-Let-Anyone-Else-Have-Moments,' she muttered. Beck stifled a snigger. Mr. Dolly narrowed his eyes and glanced down at the papers on his desk. 'Hmm. Oliver, West, Vega, Harris, Shapiro, Valentine. Principal's office, please.'

Jade's jaw dropped. 'Is this about kissing Beck? You're sending us to the _principal's _office? You can't...'

'It is _not _about that, West. Get up and go to the principal's office, all of you. He wants to speak to you.'

'About what?' Tori asked.

'Beats me, I'm just passing on the message. Now _GO_!'

Jumping to their feet, the six of them scooted out of the classroom, exchanging confused stares as soon as they were in the hallway.

'Any idea what this is about?' Robbie asked. Andre shook his head. 'Not a clue.'

'Ah..' a voice said and the gang looked round to see Mr. Moorefield. 'The principal's busy so I'm going to explain.' He ushered them to his office and without waiting for them to ask, started to explain. 'The national COPAS is approaching in a couple of months. For those of you who _don't _know, COPAS stands for Competition of Performing Arts Schools and for the last five years, the Chicago School of Talented Students has taken out the cup and $5 000 prize that comes with it. This year, we desperately need new instruments and lighting so we need to win that competition...and we want the cup. This is the tenth COPAS so the prize has been doubled to $10 000 so we want the money. Now, after having a meeting, all our teachers agreed that you six who are all very talented musicians, are friends and work well together so we nominated the six of you to represent our school in this year's COPAS. The rules are for bands, you sing at least two songs and a maximum of four, you have to have a lead singer with at least one backup and you must have live instruments, no backing tracks. I'm leaving the choosing of songs to you lot but try and do two-three songs so we have a good chance but not four otherwise you'll look desperate. The other teachers have already assigned places so they are as follows...' he glanced at his computer, reading off of a checklist on the screen. '...Tori you're lead singer, Jade, Cat, backup, Andre, piano, Robbie and Beck, guitar. You boys will also be singing.' He finished, brushing the dust of his jeans. 'Dismissed, you can go back to class, now.'

The six teenagers stared at her, stunned and dumbfounded. Tori spoke first. 'I will not...I _cannot _sing lead in a national competition representing Hollywood Arts! I'll screw up!'

'You will not,' Mr. Moorefield sighed.

'I'm not even that _good _at guitar!' Robbie insisted.

'Neither!' Beck agreed.

'You're both average, deal with it,' Jade snapped. 'Is there any way you could choose another group of students?'

'None whatsoever,' Mr. Moorefield said firmly. 'I don't want another word on the topic. Get _out _of my sight!'

Astonished, they trudged out of his office. Andre scratched his head. 'What are we gonna do? They got no clue 'bout this. We need a drummer and a bass player and neither Beck nor Robbie can play bass.'

'Jade can,' Tori spoke up. 'She can play and sing. And...Beck can play piano so he can play, Andre, you play the guitar and Robbie does drums while Cat and I stay in the same positions.'

Jade shrugged. 'That _could _possibly work.'

The others nodded in agreement. Tori grinned triumphantly. 'Great. So...everyone free tonight? We can practice at my place...'

'I'm all good until seven,' Jade said, leaning against a locker. Beck nodded. 'Yeah same, until seven thirty.'

'I can until six,' Cat said.

'Same until six,' Robbie added. Andre nodded. 'Yup, I'm good all evening. Got no plans, my grandma's invited to dinner with my three cousins so I'm happy to get outta the house. They'll probably set the house on fire.'

'What about all you're stuff?' Cat asked anxiously. Andre rolled his eyes. 'It's in the garage. I sleep there 'cause that's the only place I can practice my music without Mum or Dad yelling at me to shut up.'

Tori grinned. 'Great, so we're all free tonight? Come over to my place after school. We'll start practicing. We've gotta be more than perfect if we're gonna win this thing.'

_**A/N: **_**Hoped ya guys liked! In the next chapter, there'll be some Tori/Andre fluff so keep an eye out, with some Jade/Beck action happenin' too! Cat and Robbie maybe more later on though...**

**Like I said b4...this is my first VicTORIous fanfiction so please tell me (nicely) if anything's wrong! I tried to make Jade a bit more, well...Jade in this chapter (but I think she's different when it's just her and Beck) R&R!**


	4. Stage Kiss

_**A/N:**_** Hope ya guys liked the last chapter! In this one ya got some Tori/Andre fluff up ahead, along with a Beck and Jade momento. (: enjoy!**

_Here I am _

_once again_

_Feeling lost _

_but now and then_

_I breathe it in _

_to let it go_

_and you don't know where you are now_

_or what it would come to _

_if only somebody would hear_

_when you figure out how_

_you're lost in the moment_

_you disappear_

_you don't have to be afraid to put your dream in action_

_you're never gonna fade you'll be the main attraction_

_not a fantasy_

_just remember me_

_when it turns out right_

_cause you know that if you're living your imagination_

_tomorrow you'll be everybody's fascination_

_in my victory_

_just remember me_

_when I make it shine_

Andre ended the chord with a soft strum, grinning. 'That sounds great, you guys,' he said, carefully lying the guitar down on the wooden floor. 'But a quick question. Why, are we in the attic?'

Tori laughed. 'Oh, that's because it's sound proof so Mum and Dad can work. And anyway, we're going to need way more than 'great' if we're going to win. We don't wanna let Hollywood Arts down.'

'We won't,' Beck said from the piano. 'But during Composition today, I figured we'd probably get bonus points if we sang an original song...you know, something Andre wrote. It would be even cooler if you we wrote it _based _on COPAS, we'd really win the judges' attention.'

Tori slipped the microphone back into the stand. 'Sounds logical, but I reckon we should keep working on _Make it Shine _today so we can try and get it perfect. Andre's staying for dinner so we'll brainstorm ideas about writing a song, then.'

Andre smiled. Jade pretended to gag. Beck chuckled, snaking his arms around his girlfriend's waist, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. Tori opened the door of the attic, yelling down 'Trina! Bring up the nachos!'

'Do it yourself!' Trina shouted back.

'Mum!' Tori called. There was no reply. '_Trina_! Where's Mum?'

'_Out! _She and Dad went out on a romantic evening so they couldn't be interrupted by us!'

Tori groaned, kicking the door shut. She glanced at the clock. 'Aw man, it's nearly six. You sure you guys can't stay longer?'

Cat shook her head. 'Mum gets worried if I don't turn up back home on time.'

'My allowance will get taken off me,' Jade said grimly. Beck stared at her. 'How do you take free time _away _from you?'

'Your allowance is free time?' Robbie asked. Jade nodded. 'Kind of. I don't get money, I have to get a job if I want money. My allowance is being allowed to leave the house.'

There was a stunned silence and then Tori gave a small laugh. 'Oh well, then. See you guys tomorrow.'

There was a chorus of 'Kay, then', 'Alright' and 'See you.'

Tori escorted her friends to the door, closing it with a heavy sigh. She looked back at Andre. 'Want nachos?' she asked. Andre grinned. 'Oh yeah.'

Tori swore under her breath. 'I ate _way _too much. I'm gonna have a nacho hangover tomorrow morning.' She groaned, collapsing on the sofa, burying her face in a pillow. Andre laughed...then groaned too. 'Uh huh...me too.' He glanced over at the sheet of paper on the piano. It was completely and utterly blank...there wasn't even a line of pencil on it. 'We've written nothing in two hours. Aw man, the others are gonna _kill us._'

'No..._Jade _is going to kill us.'

Andre cursed in agreement. Suddenly, he gave a startled shout and snatched his bag from the floor. 'Damn, my lines! Mr. Dolly gave us the script so we could rehearse for tomorrow's performance! You're Sally, I'm Aaron, remember?'

Tori gave a whine of complaint. 'But I'm _tired. _I don't wanna rehearse lines!'

'Tori. Do you want to get an F?'

'No!'

'Then we need to rehearse. Okay, Act III, Scene Eight when we...oh.' He stopped short, reading the italics. _Sally and Aaron stare at each other for a moment before kissing. Rhiannon walks in, sighing when she sees them. _

_**Rhiannon: **_**About time! **

Tori swallowed. 'Oh. I...um...well. We don't exactly want to be shocked speechless tomorrow so we should probably, you know...'

'Try?' Andre finished. 'Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Uh...gimme your cue.'

Tori nodded. "'It's not fair! Just because of my success, suddenly, everyone hates me? What about you, huh, Aaron? What do you think of me, now that I'm famous?'" She looked up at Andre who had one think sparkling his eyes...nervousness. Leaning forwards, thoughts were zooming through Tori's mind. _Okay? Should I do this? This could completely ruin my friendship with him! But I like him don't I? Hey...it's just a stage kiss, right? They don't mean anything...oh man, this is crazy! I can't kiss Andre...! _But before she knew it, she _was _kissing him. And it didn't feel like a stage kiss either.

**A/N: Ooh, naughty Tori. Kissing ya best mate! R&R, luv all you readers!**


	5. Bad Day

_**A/N:**_** Thanks for the reviews!(: Enjoy next chapter, R&R:**

Tori was pacing in front of her locker. _She had been so stupid! This was completely going to ruin their friendship! What had she been thinking? _She turned to face her locker, opening it with a huff. She stared at the photo that was glued to the back...the photo of her, Jade, Beck, Cat, Robbie and Andre. He had his arm around her shoulders, all them grinning their heads off...even Jade. Tori groaned, burying her face in her arms. A hand on her shoulder startled her and she jumped looking backwards. 'Andre!' she said in surprise. '...uh...'

Andre shook his head. 'Okay. I got two things to say. First...seeing as Sikowitz's back, we don't have to perform that play, therefore no kiss. So..we never talk about last night ever again.'

Tori nodded in agreement. 'Definitely.'

'Good. Second thing...' he handed Tori a piece of paper and she glanced down at it. At the top was one word..._Expectations. _Below it was a song. Tori's face lit up. 'You wrote all this in one night? Andre, you're brilliant!'

Andre grinned, looking slightly embarrassed. 'Thanks, Tori. Um...wanna go over it later? You know, with the others?'

Tori nodded. 'Okay, sure.' There was an awkward silence between them and Andre gave her a short smile before leaving abruptly. Tori looked down at the song and groaned, stamping her foot angrily.

'Whoa, Vega, calm down,' Jade said, smirking as she walked over, hand in hand with Beck. Tori scowled. 'Yeah, yeah, whatever..._shut it, West_.'

Jade looked astonished and very taken aback. Beck chuckled in amusement. 'What's wrong, Tori?' he asked. Tori ran her fingers through her long, wavy, brown hair. 'Well...last night, after you guys left, Andre and I were practicing for that play Mr. Dolly assigned us and well, we had to kiss.'

Jade snorted in laughter.

'...and well...things have been awkward between us ever since. I don't know what to do!' She slammed her locker shut. Beck bit his lip. 'Ouch. Well...do you like him?'

Jade rolled her eyes. 'Of course she does, that's just plain obvious.'

'Then ask him out!' Beck said. Tori shook her head. 'But what if he doesn't like me? Our kiss already made things terrible between us. Imagine what could happen if I ask him out!'

Jade snickered but fell silent at Beck's glare. 'Look,' he said. 'It can't hurt to try. And if he doesn't like you back, you two can talk and fix everything.'

Tori sighed. 'Thanks, guys.'

'Yeah, yeah, whatever..._shut it Vega_,' Jade snapped, walking briskly over to her locker. Tori folded her arms, giving Jade an evil eyed look before scanning the hallway for Andre. It would be better to get this over and done with. She spotted him grabbing some instruments for band practice and headed over to him. 'Hey, Andre,' she said, smiling.

'Heya, Tori,' he said. 'What's up?'

Tori swallowed. 'I gotta ask you something. I...' She was interrupted by her phone buzzing. She narrowed her eyes. 'Aw man. Gimme a sec...' She pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked it. It was from Trina. _get home ASAP dad called the principal don't worry important family meeting hurry UP _

Tori frowned. Important family meeting? About what...what could be so important that her parents would want her to miss school?

'What's wrong?' Andre asked, leaning against the wall. Tori grimaced. 'Trina just texted me, said there's an important family meeting now and Dad got us out of school. Dunno what it's about, though. Um...I'll text you, kay?'

Andre nodded. 'Yeah, sure. See you later.'

Tori flashed him a quick smile before texting Trina back. _a family meeting? NOW? I was just about 2 do something important! :( _

She shoved her phone angrily in her pocket before storming out of the school.

'_What_?' Tori shrieked. She didn't know whether to be ecstatic or absolutely horrified. One sibling was bad enough...yeah, she loved Trina but she could definitely get on her nerves...but _two_? And one sixteen years her junior? That was crazy. Trina was staring at their parents, shocked, dumbfounded, say what you want but she looked like she was about to faint. To make matters worse, Tori found her phone buzzing with a text from the one person she didn't want to talk to. Marcus. _call me, plze _

Tori felt her heart shatter again and she texted back one word: _N. O. _

'Look,' she said, scratching the back of her head. 'I...well...there's a lot going on right now, like COPAS and Marcus and Nives and...' she paused. '...other stuff and now this? I just...need some time to think...' She shook her head, picking up her bag and hurrying to the door.

'Where are you going?' Trina asked.

'School,' Tori sighed. 'It's the one place where I can forget about most things and get a clear head.' She closed the door behind her, opening a new text message to Jade, Robbie, Cat, Beck and Andre. _need 2 talk 2 all of you meet me our table. Argh. _

'Okay that's just plain gross,' Andre said, offering Tori a nacho. Tori took one, then slammed it down to the table, crushing it. 'I don't want _another _sibling! That's just...a big...NO, NO.'

'I agree,' Jade said, resting her head on Beck's shoulder. 'Two should be the maximum the age limit should be at the most, five years apart.'

There was a murmur of agreement.

'I don't mind my brothers,' Cat spoke up. Tori raised her eyebrows. 'You mean the ones that got stabbed in Japan and got shot by a clown?'

'Yup, that's the one,' Cat said cheerfully. The others laughed, even Jade. But Robbie's grin disappeared when he saw someone who was heading over to them. 'Tori,' he said. 'You might want to go...'

Tori looked back and let out a short chain of colourful swear words. 'Jade, Cat, let's go,' she said, getting to her feet.

'Oh no you don't,' Marcus said immediately, grabbing hold of Tori's shoulder. Tori shook his hand off, just as Andre got to his feet. 'Leave her alone,' he said through his teeth. 'When somebody says they don't want to talk to you, the usually mean _they don't want to talk to you._'

'Tori?' Jade reminded. 'We were leaving?'

'Yes,' Tori said coldly. 'We were. Robbie, Beck, Andre? You coming? We have to rehearse.'

'What about me?' Rex asked, pouting. Tori rolled her eyes and Jade shoved her gum in his nose. Robbie gave a whine. 'Not again!'

'You can't ignore me forever!' Marcus shouted. Tori whirled round, her hair flying over her shoulders as she glared at him. 'Yes, actually, I can.' And with that, she left with her friends to the school theatre.

They walked in silence but Jade glanced sideways to Tori who looked shaken and upset, not to mention absolutely furious. 'You okay?' Jade asked. Tori nodded. 'Mm. Fine. At least now he'll probably make an attempt to stay out of my life.'

Jade couldn't help but smile. 'So? We practicing?'

Tori retrieved _Expectations _from her bag and put it on the top of the piano. 'The song Andre wrote. Now...POSITIONS PEOPLE!'

_**A/N: **_**Jade's nice side gets brought out and I realised I needed to emphasise Marcus a bit more so...here ya are! (: Review plze!**


	6. New Song

_**A/N:**_** Ok...how do you get those huge lines that separate to bits of text? Because my separating line things DON'T WORK! :( Oh well, instead between paragraphs I'll put: VicTORIous suoIROTciV—okay? Btw...the song in the following chapter IS copyrighted...to ME! Yeah, actually I'm serious cuz I wrote it so...please don't go stealing it!Short chapter here...sorry(: Enjoy anyway...R&R!**

_You gotta rise up_

_to people's expectations_

_you're gonna meet brand new faces_

_the world's gonna mean _

_so much more_

_when you step out _

_of everything you're used to_

_you'll become brand new_

_and ready_

_to meet_

_the world..._

Beck stopped playing, glancing at the score of music in appreciation. 'I like it, Andre. How did you come up with it?'

Andre grinned and looked over at Tori. 'I remembered how Tori was stressing about letting everyone down when she sang lead...' Tori blushed. '...and I thought I would write something about stepping up to something that you think you can't do but something your friends know you _can _do. And something that'll change how you think about yourself. The song kinda took a life of its own and wrote itself.'

'You earned my respect,' Jade said, chewing on a pencil. 'Are we going over it again?' She sat down beside Beck. Tori looked over at the clock. 'I don't think so, we've only got a little while left. I was thinking, Lane wanted us to do three songs. What's our third song?'

'You're the reason?' Robbie suggested.

'We can't do that, girl pants,' Rex spoke up. 'Andre sold that to Beyonce.'

'I did _not_!' Andre said hotly. 'I gave it to Tori who gave it to Trina who sold it to her uncle who gave it to Beyonce. Get it right, puppet!'

'He isn't a puppet!' Robbie insisted but stopped whining at one of Jade's 'looks.' Jade grinned triumphantly, lying down with her head in Beck's lap. Tori sat on the lid of the piano, reading through _Expectations. _'So far we've only got a chorus,' she said. 'We need verses. Andre?'

Andre shrugged. 'I've just got one and sounds more like...I dunno...second verse if you ask me.'

'Sing it anyway,' Tori said.

_Sometimes_

_when life feels like a circle_

_every step's a hurdle_

_and nothing's going right..._

Tori bit her lip. 'Hm. I see what you're talking about. You guys, any other ideas?'

Jade sat up, pushing Beck more to the other side of the piano stool. 'Gimme a guitar,' she said. Tori picked up a bass but Jade shook her head. 'No...an electric guitar, Vega. Okay, so the verse was "'Sometimes...okay, move that to the beginning of the first verse. Beginning of the second verse can be _those times. _Wait...' She did some scribbling on the paper and then handed it to Andre. 'How about this?'

Andre raised his eyebrows. 'I didn't know you could write songs, Jade.'

Jade shrugged. 'I can't. I take Composition. Sing it, Vega.'

_Sometimes_

_when things are forced upon you _

_you got noone to turn to_

_you got nowhere to go..._

_Those times_

_when life feels like a circle_

_every step's a hurdle_

_and nothing's going right..._

'How's that?' Jade asked when Tori had finished singing. Tori beamed. 'Brilliant.'

_**A/N: **_**Whataya think? Luv, hate? Lemme know! Review!**


	7. Morning Call

_**A/N:**_** Ok...in the following chapter a bit of nice and a bit of normal Jade + an Andre/Tori moment and I think a short Jade/Beck moment. Just enjoy! **

Tori was awoken...well, she and everyone else...by her phone ringing to the tune of 'You're the Reason.' She groaned, reaching out and groping on the floor to find her cellphone. She heard Jade swear angrily. 'Vega. Shut you phone up or I will cut it up like the janitor's rubbish bin.'

Tori opened one eye, looking down to the floor of the RV. 'I can't find it! Urgh...who'd be calling at two in the morning...?'

She and the rest of the gang had been staying the night in Beck's RV after a night of truth or dare. Tori gave a whine of exasperation. 'Aw man...Andre, can you find my phone?' Truth be told, Tori kinda wanted to wake Andre up so she could desperately text him something but he just mumbled 'Nah uh. I'm tired.' while Jade laughed but then groaned while the ringing continued. Finally...the call switched onto voicemail...a voicemail that shocked everyone. '_Tori, you can't ignore me forever. I want to talk to you and you can't put me off. Call me back. You can't hang around having your friends protecting you all the time like they're your little bodyguards. Just give it up and let me talk to you. The kiss with Nives meant nothing, I swear. I really do love you. Please. Call me back._' The message ended with a long beep and there was dead silence in the caravan. Jade untangled herself from Beck's arms and swung her legs out of his bed. 'Tori?' she asked softly. Beck leaned over and switched the light on and they saw Tori's face as white as a sheet. Jade sighed, sitting down beside Tori. 'Tori. Talk.'

Nothing.

Jade frowned. 'Tori...are you even...? Tori _breathe_!'

There was a shout of alarm and Andre looked up. 'Tori...BREATHE!'

Tori breathed and then grabbed her handbag, throwing things out of it until she found her phone. Jade looked around at all the papers and cards and wallet and money she had thrown out of her bag. 'Tori, what are you doing?'

'Deleting anything to do with him,' Tori said through tears. 'Blocking him. He can't get to me, he _won't_.'

'Tori you...' Beck began but Tori cut him off. 'Don't! You don't know, you wouldn't understand...' She could hardly see her cellphone screen through her tears...all she saw was a blur of colours and she dropped the phone to the floor, crossing her legs and trying to stop crying as Jade pulled her into a hug. Cat looked very worried. 'Should I get her a coffee?'

'A decaf for all of us,' Robbie said. 'I'll come.'

Andre exchanged a worried look with Beck who suddenly had an idea. 'Yo, man. Can I talk to you for a sec?'

Andre nodded and mouthed to Jade 'Look after her' before following Beck out of the caravan. 'What is it?'

Beck sighed. 'Look, I think Tori likes you. As in _like, _like. And I _know _you like her. Maybe the best way for her to get over Marcus is to be with someone she knows would never hurt her like he did. Someone like you...?'

**VicTORIous suoIROTciV**

Cat returned with coffees, handing Jade two. Jade put hers down and looked at Tori. 'Vega, drink this.'

'I can't drink coffee at two a.m.,' Tori said stubbornly.

'It's decaf, Vega. Drink it,' Jade said in her DO IT voice. Tori took the coffee with a moan, taking a gulp. 'I hate Marcus,' she said afterwards, 'and Nives. Why would she do that to me?'

Robbie muttered something rude and Jade looked impressed. 'Never thought you had it in you, girl pants.'

'Stop _calling _me that!' Robbie wailed. 'I didn't know!'

Even Tori laughed and Jade smiled to herself. Her part here was done. While she picked up her coffee, she realised that though nobody knew it, she thought of Tori as her best friend. Though their friendship was slightly twisted with a mixture of "love-hate and don't-you-dare-steal-my-boyfriend" Jade found that though it was great having Beck, it wasn't the same as having a _girl _you could talk to. Cat was too hyper to ever be understanding like that, though she was the sweetest person you could ever know...Robbie, Andre...they were friends but...like Beck, the were guys. Trina...well. _No. _So then you were left with Tori who on countless occasions had helped Jade with certain things.

'You know what?' Andre said, leaning back on the wall of the RV. 'I just realised. We spend _way _to much time in that janitor's closet.'

Everybody laughed and Robbie snorted his coffee, making everyone laugh harder. Jade lay down in Beck's arms and he gave her a quick kiss. 'What did you say this time?' he asked. Jade chuckled. 'I told her to drink her coffee.'

Beck looked very confused but decided not to press the matter further. He pulled her closer and there was the soft scent of fruit and salt from her hair. He had a feeling that Tori, like him, was starting to realise that Jade was a complete other person with the people she was closest to. 'So you don't hate Tori so much anymore?' he asked quietly. Jade considered. 'Dunno. Since she arrived, she's climbed my list.'

'Who's at the bottom now?'

'Well...it _was _Ryder Daniels but now I think Marcus and Nives are tied.'

'Ah, did I just hear concern for Tori Vega?'

'No, you did not. We do not speak of this again.'

'I love you too.'

**VicTORIous suoIROTciV**

Tori lodged a complaint with her parents about Marcus calling her at two in the morning and there was a very stern PARENT-PARENT chat which Tori managed to get Trina to eavesdrop on while she practiced upstairs with the group. While Andre played some quiet improv, Jade threw her capo to the floor. 'We need a third song! What is our third song? _Vega_, you and Andre pick a third song!'

'Why us?' Tori asked, bewildered.

'Well, if you can't pick one then you two write one. That's what you always do.'

Tori couldn't help but agree on that.

'Tori!' a voice called and Tori groaned. 'Wait a minute, you guys.' She slipped out of the attic, hurrying down the stairs. When she reached the dining room, Marcus's parents were gone. She breathed a sigh of relief. Mrs. Vega noticed and gestured to the couch. 'Trina, you too.'

As the sisters took a seat on the couch, exchanging looks of confusion. Mr. Vega pushed the chair under the table, folding his arms. 'Girls...your mother and I are leaving for New York to talk to Nives's parents tomorrow morning.'

'And I'm outta here...' Tori muttered...immediately getting to her feet when Nives was mentioned.

'_Tori_,' her father chided. Tori noticed Jade and Andre standing at the top of the staircase and grimly collapsed onto the couch again. 'What? Just get it over and done with so I can get back to practice.'

Mrs. Vega smiled a bit. 'For both of you, it's your choice whether you want to come or not...'

'I say not,' Tori said under her breath.

'Not,' Trina agreed.

Mr. And Mrs. Vega glanced at each other. Mr. Vega nodded. 'Okay then. We'll be gone about a week. Seeing as neither of you have any desire to come with us, I hope I can trust you two to look after the house while we're gone...in case we stay longer?'

Tori nodded. 'Yeah, you can trust us, Mum. Don't worry. Now...can I please get back to practice?'

Mrs. Vega sighed. 'Tori...don't you want to hear what your cousin has to say on the whole matter?'

'No,' Tori said sharply, getting up and briskly walking to the stairs.

'Tori!' her mother said firmly, crossing her arms. 'I don't care _what _you say, you will being talking to your cousin sooner or later whether you like it or not.'

Pressing her lips together tightly, Tori continued to walk up the stairs, pushing past Andre and Jade and running back up to the attic. She didn't shut the door behind her but wiped angry tears from her eyes, picking up _Expectations. _'Let's start rehearsing again,' she said.

'Tori...' Andre began but he was cut off by Tori spinning round. 'Don't,' she said. 'I'm fine, honestly. Don't worry. Let's just rehearse.'

The others doubtfully nodded, getting ready to do another song but Andre touched Tori's arm briefly. 'You can talk to me any time,' he said quietly. Tori saw anxiety in his eyes and gave him a small, short smile. 'Thanks.'

Andre patted her shoulder, heading over to his guitar. Tori saw Jade smirk from the drum set and narrowed her eyes. 'Shut up, West,' she hissed. Jade chuckled. 'Ooh. Touchy, aren't you, Vega?'

'I have good reason,' Tori shot back. Jade shrugged. 'Didn't say that, did I?'

_**A/N: **_**You know what to do! Read&Review! **


	8. A Conversation

_**A/N:**_** We finally meet Nives in this chapter! A couple of Andre/Tori moments (I think) and a Jade/Beck moment too! Enjoy(:**

A week goes by pretty quickly. Wrapped in homework and rehearsals: Marcus, Nives and _time _never once crossed Tori's mind. It was only when the doorbell rang on Friday evening when Tori and Andre were chilling out watching TV in Tori's living room, that she suddenly realised what day it was. After a short argument, Trina ended up getting the door but her face turned cold when she did. 'You,' she said harshly, turning her back on the guest and going back to the kitchen. Mr. Vega sighed at his daughters. 'Nives, come in...'

'Say _what _now?' Tori exclaimed, spitting out her milkshake. 'What's _she _doing here?'

Mrs. Vega put down her suitcases. 'Tori, I told you sooner or later you'd have to talk to her.'

'Um..maybe I should go,' Andre suggested but Tori shook her head. 'No need. Come on, we're leaving.'

'But Tori...' Nives began but Tori ignored her, pulling Andre out of the door and slamming it behind them. Andre gave Tori a quick sympathetic squeeze. 'You want to go see Jade and Cat hold up their title at Karaoke Doki?' he asked. Tori's face lit up. 'Definitely!'

**VicTORIous suoIROTciV**

_You might be crazy_

_but have I told you lately?_

_That I love you, you're the only reason that I'm not afraid to try_

_and it's crazy_

_that someone could change me_

_now no matter what it is I have to do I'm not afraid to try_

_and you need to know that you're the reason why..._

_You're the reason why._

Jade and Cat finished with a high five and Tori cheered loudly, alongside Beck, Robbie and Andre. 'Go Jade and Cat!' Tori said loudly, clapping. Jade and Cat jumped off the stage, giving a sideways smirk at Hayley and Tara.

'Well?' Jade asked, sitting _very _close to Beck. Beck smiled, kissing the top of her head. 'You were both brilliant, as always. But meanwhile, getting back to Nives...'

'What about her?' Jade asked. 'What have I missed?'

Cat looked anxious. 'What about her? Did she kiss Andre too?'

'Cat!' Tori said indignantly, going red. Andre exchanged a grin with Beck.

'What?' Cat asked innocently. Robbie rolled his eyes. Rex spoke up. 'Come on, spit it out, cute girl.'

Tori raised her eyebrows. 'I'd rather not,' she muttered. Andre sighed. 'Tori's parents dragged Nives back here to Vegas to talk to Tori,' he explained to Jade and Cat. Jade's jaw dropped. 'Ugh, where is she? I want to have a word.'

'Calm down,' Beck said, rubbing her arm. Jade ignored him. Tori gave her a small thankful smile and shook her head. 'Don't worry about it Jade. Tonight I'll just get it over and done with, see what she has to say and then tell Mum that I've talked to her and kick her out of the house.'

'Want me to come over?' Andre asked. Truthfully, Tori desperately wanted him to come over but knew it would be more logical to have Cat and Jade (mainly Jade) over instead. However, she turned all the options down. 'No, I'll do it on my own. Andre, it'll just be awkward for you and Jade, probably you'd just say completely the wrong thing and have a major spaz at her.'

'Dude!' Jade protested.

'Admit it, she's right,' Beck said. Jade reluctantly surrendered with a grumble, leaning back in her boyfriend's arms who smiled triumphantly.

'What about me?' Cat asked, looking hurt. Tori wondered how to put it without Cat running away in tears. Jade put it for her. 'She doesn't want Nives to say something mean to you.'

Tori was surprised how well Jade put it. 'Yes, that's it, Cat.'

'Aw, thanks Tori!' Cat cried. 'You're such a good friend.'

Tori exchanged a snicker with Andre before glancing at her watch. 'It's nearly nine. I should probably head home before Nives goes to sleep.'

'If you want, we can have another camp out in the RV and you can avoid her for another night,' Beck offered.

Tori groaned. 'Don't tempt me. Later guys.'

Her friends said a unanimous goodbye and Jade sat up. 'Sure you don't want any of us to come?'

Tori shook her head. 'I can handle this.'

**VicTORIous suoIROTciV**

'I didn't know.'

Tori stared her cousin. 'What's that supposed to mean—you didn't know! You were having a full frontal make out session with him in front of the RV! We _saw _you!'

'But you didn't hear the full story! Please let me explain!' Nives begged. Tori sighed, leaning against the wall. 'You have one minute. Starting...now.'

'Right then,' Nives said. 'It was at the festival, I was looking for you and Trina. Then, I ran into Marcus and he asked if I wanted something to eat. He was being really nice and bought me a pizza and everything. We were just talking when I asked whether he was here with you. He shook his head and then just kissed me! I didn't know what to do so I asked whether you two had broken up. He said no and I asked about you because he'd said he loved you earlier that day. He said that those were just words and that he'd got his popularity. That's when I saw you and I didn't know what to say!'

'What about when you told me I wasn't worth it?' Tori demanded.

'It just came out of my mouth! I didn't mean it! Tori, we've been so close since we were nine, I would never purposely do something like this to you! Ever since you got into Hollywood Arts you've been Aria's inspiration! We've all been so proud of you, I really didn't mean to kiss him!'

'And the text message?' Tori asked. Nives looked confused. 'What text message? I've been too afraid to text or call you. What are you talking about?'

A sudden sickening snap of realisation made Tori furious. _Marcus. _She quickly explained to Nives her theory that of the fact that Marcus had sent the text message and Nives' eyes turned cold. 'How do we bust him, then? He won't fess up. He keeps saying that I was the one who kissed _him._ How do we make him confess subconsciously?'

Tori grinned. 'Simple. My friends can come up with a plan no sweat.'

'The ones who were there that night?'

'The very same.'

_**A/N: **_**You know what to do. Read and review!**


	9. Hollywood's Game

_**A/N:**_** Marcus is gonna get BUSTED! And he totally deserves it! **

The following day, Tori invited the others over, asking for their help which they definitely accepted. As Tori opened the door to let them in, she immediately said 'Do not spaz out at Nives. I'll explain it all soon.'

Grimacing and glaring at Nives, Jade marched past Tori. 'Vega, d'you have any pink lemonade?'

'In the fridge, get it yourself. Okay guys,' Tori folded her arms. 'We're all here because we need to bust Marcus.'

'Ooh, goodie!' Cat said eagerly, clapping her hands. 'What are we going to do?'

Tori chuckled sheepishly. 'Yeah...that's why _you _guys are here. We need your help. _How _are we going to bust him?'

'I'll knock some sense into him,' Jade said through her teeth, clicking her tongue.

'Something a little less violent, babe,' Beck reminded. Jade looked put out. Tori patted her shoulder. 'Just something a bit toned down, you know?'

'How about this...' Andre said from the piano. '...how about, we find Marcus at school and get Nives to talk to him. Depending on his reaction, we can figure out which one of those two are lying.' He shot a sharp look at Nives who looked down. 'We'll be watching or Sinjin can film it and give us the tape. But I reckon it's better if we're all there because then there's proof from all six of us.'

'It could work,' Tori agreed. 'Andre, you're a genius.'

Andre winked and Jade rolled her eyes. 'Flirt,' she muttered. Andre ignored her, returning to play the piano. Tori sat down on the couch. 'It's Saturday so he'll probably be at his little brother, Toby's soccer game. All we have to do is go online and check at which grounds Toby's playing today and bingo, we'll have Marcus' location. You guys up for it?'

'As long as I can video it and put it on theSlap,' Robbie said, pulling his cam-corder out of his backpack. Tori grinned. 'Feel free.'

**VicTORIous suoIROTciV**

'Marcus!'

Marcus looked back and Tori held her breath. Depending on _this _reaction, she knew who to trust. Marcus's face split into a smile. 'Hey beautiful! Whatya doing here?'

Tori curled her hand into a fist. That...piece of...

She saw Nives looked shocked and then she regained herself. 'Well...um...Tori's parents dragged me down here to talk to her. Are you really sending her all those messages?'

'Yeah, I am! I gotta look innocent, don't I? You denied kissing me, right? It'll make Tori and those wanna-be friends of hers look like liars.'

'Let me whip his butt!' Jade growled through her teeth but Tori and Beck held her back. 'Wait,' Tori said. 'Let's see if Nives can spill any more out of him. You getting all this Robbie?'

'Every word,' Robbie said slyly.

'She says I sent her a text message,' Nives said, choosing her words carefully. 'I didn't though.'

'I know,' Marcus said, turning back to the game. 'I sent it. It'll make Tori look like more of a liar, as if she sent the message to herself to make you look bad.'

Tori narrowed his eyes and heard Andre mutter something inappropriate that made her grin. Nives folded her arms. 'She's my cousin Marcus. You kissed _me. _Why d'you cheat on her?' Marcus shook his head, sighing. 'Nives, Nives, Nives. You're naive. Look, sometimes, popularity is more important, especially when you're in the Hollywood game like I am. You wouldn't know that but at Hollywood Arts, the game can be played in many different ways. You have to be careful which move you make.'

'I agree,' Tori said, stepping out of the shadows. Marcus' face was blank and then it shifted to panic. He looked from Nives to Tori and then back to Nives. 'You planned this?'

Nives nodded. 'She's my cousin. You're a player. Who do you think I'd choose?'

Tori nodded to Robbie who also stepped out of the shadows with the camera. Marcus looked horrified. Tori smirked. 'You're right, Marcus. The game can indeed be played in many different ways. You have to be careful which move you make because a rematch can change everything. If you remember correctly, you can always bring new players onto the ground.' She gestured to Nives. 'I can't wait to see what people have to say after they see this footage.'

Marcus lunged for Robbie who stepped backwards. Andre and Beck grabbed Marcus and Beck backed him up onto a wall. 'Listen here buddy,' he growled. 'Don't even try to deny any of this. We've got proof. You should've known that we'd get you in the end.' He threw Marcus to the ground and returned to the group.

'Can I _please_ kick him?' Jade begged. Tori shook her head. 'No...then he has something against us. Come on guys. My parents will be very interested in this.'

**VicTORIous suoIROTciV**

As Tori lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, she smiled. As soon as they'd arrived home, they'd ordered her parents to watch the video and immediately afterwards, Marcus' parents had been called. Tori didn't know what was happening after that...it had been a serious parent talk from both parties, actually, all three...(Nives' parents had also been called.) Tori turned onto her side. Now she could finally focus on COPAS without any more distractions...well, except for the fact that her mother was pregnant, but that was it. She could also find more time to spend with her friends (a.k.a. Andre) but that didn't matter. Tori tossed back onto her back. Though life was all good at the moment, she couldn't sleep. She reached over to get her laptop which was on hibernate and she opened it. Keying in her password (which was 'make-it-shine') she signed into theSlap. She saw Andre was online too.

_Andre Harris ➝ Heyy white girl(: what u doing online midnight?_

_Tori Vega_ _➝ Well I could ask u the same thing. :P cant sleep._

_Andre Harris_ _➝ working on a song_

_Tori Vega_ _➝ AT THIS HOUR?_

_Andre Harris_ _➝ Hey! I'm a serious musician, u know that._

_Tori Vega_ _➝ midnight? Really, Andre?_

_Andre Harris_ _➝ Yeah, really! What's the You-Marcus-Nives outcome?_

_Tori Vega_ _➝ You know as much as I do. Parents wont tell any of us :( _

_Andre Harris_ _➝ Perk up(: 2morrow's Sunday—got any plans cuz we desperately need the practice..._

_Tori Vega_ _➝ I agree. No plans, why don't you come over nine? We can work on Expectations b4 calling the others round?_

_Andre Harris_ _➝ Yeah sure! My 3 cousins are still here & they r driving me up the wall! Get me outta the house and I'm happy(:_

_Tori Vega ➝ Well Trina's got a new BF so I'm happy to be up in the attic away from the SMOOCHING. Ugh. :__**/ **_

_Andre Harris_ _➝ Haha, lol. If we're gonna practice 2morrow. We'd better get sum sleep._

_Tori Vega_ _➝ I will if u will._

_Andre Harris_ _➝ Done(: L8r! _

_Tori Vega_ _➝ Cya 2morrow(: thanx for all the help w__**/ **__Marcus and all that(: _

_Andre Harris_ _➝ Tori. You're my best friend. 'Course I'd help u out, we all would.(: cya!_

_**Andre Harris is offline...**_

Tori smiled, quickly updating her status to: _great day! Right, from now on, focus is COPAS. _

_**Feeling: **__Determined. :D_

Shutting her computer lid, Tori lay back down on the pillows and let sleep overtake her.

_**A/N: **_**Bit of an Andre/Tori moment! You know what to do, read and review!**


	10. Just Listen

_**A/N:**_** Okay, new song appearing in here. It's called "Just Listen" as Tori points out but like "Expectations", I wrote it so...IT'S COPYRIGHTED! Apart from that, enjoy the chapter! Thanks for all the reviews, they're really encouraging! **

Tori woke with someone banging on her bedroom door. 'Mm? Come in...' she called groggily. It opened and Andre peered in. 'Well, well, well, lazy bones. It's nine a.m. Morning!'

'Ugh, I hate morning people!' Tori moaned, disappearing under her duvet. Andre laughed, jumping onto the bed. 'I'll give you an extra strong coffee...'

'You forget that it's _Jade _who's addicted to coffee.'

'I'll write you a song...' Andre tempted. Tori's head appeared from the mass of bedding on her bed. 'You do that for me anyway.'

'No I don't,' Andre corrected. 'I write songs for you to _sing. _I haven't actually written _you _a song, yet.'

Tori groaned and gave him a light shove. 'Fine, fine! Get out so I can get changed!'

'Is your coffee maker on?'

'Sheesh, you're almost as bad as Jade! Yeah, it's downstairs, help yourself.' She blinked at the intensity of the sun that was streaming through the gaps in her curtains. She opened her closet door, gazing at her clothes. What would she wear today? Oh, same as always. Jeans, boots, stylish top that she hadn't worn in a while. Picking out her clothes, she quickly got dressed, did her hair and hurried downstairs to find Andre already on the piano, a cup of coffee on the lid. Tori picked it up. 'Mine now,' she smirked. Andre rolled his eyes. 'Oh yeah, I should've known you'd do that. Jade is a bad influence on you.'

Tori shrugged, sitting down beside him on the piano stool. 'Okay, what've you got for me?'

Andre shook his head. 'Nothing, just what I was writing last night. Not important for COPAS.'

'Hey, it could be our third song!' Tori said. 'Let me hear it! Please?'

'It's not finished,' Andre warned. Tori shook that aside. 'Oh well, I can help you finish it. Come on, start playing!'

Andre grinned, starting to play. 'I'm just going to play the chorus, got it?'

'Whatever! Stop talking and sing!'

_Don't make the same mistake_

_countless others have made_

_we're meant to be_

_just wait_

_trust me_

_you'll see_

_Can you hear what've got to say_

_it doesn't just have to go my way_

_let me make things right_

_before my road back home disappears_

_into the night_

He finished the singing with a small improv at the end, glancing over to Tori. 'Well?'

Tori pouted. 'How do you _write _songs? I don't get it, you're so good!' She stomped her foot angrily. 'But other than that...I love it!'

Andre chuckled. 'You always love my songs. Do you mean it or are you just too polite to say otherwise?'

Tori turned to face. 'Andre Harris,' she said in mock seriousness. 'I swear on the name of Hollywood Arts School for Talented Students, I genuinely adore all the songs you write. Even the one about food.'

Andre laughed. 'That got turned to Song2You, don't forget.'

'Oh trust me, I haven't forgotten.'

_I don't know what you been used to_

_Never been with a girl like you_

_But, I can give you a love that's true to_

_Your heart, not material things..._

_I'll give you my song_

_These words to you_

_Sing you what I feel_

_My soul is true._

_I don't have the world_

_Can't give it to you girl,_

_But all that I can do_

_Is give this song to you._

Smiling, Andre played the final chord on the piano as Tori finished singing. 'You have to finish that song you were writing,' she said. 'If you do, we can sing it at COPAS. When the others come over, you _have _to play it, understood?'

Andre nodded, knowing he didn't have any choice. Tori smirked in triumph. 'So what's it called?'

Andre shrugged. 'Doesn't have a name yet. Anything come to mind?'

Picking up the score of music, Tori read through the song. 'Hm. Judging by lyrics, I'd call it "Just Listen." Whatya think?'

Andre grinned. 'Perfect.'

**VicTORIous suoIROTciV**

'You will finish this song Andre Harris or I will KILL YOU!'

'Now, now, Jade West. If you kill me I can't finish this song, can I?'

'ANDRE!'

'Kidding!'

Tori grinned at Beck who didn't bother restraining his girlfriend. 'We're literally two weeks away from COPAS. Andre, you and Tori finish writing the song and as soon as you do, call us over so we can practice it. Meanwhile, we need to polish _Make it Shine _and _Expectations._ What do you guys say? Sound like a plan?'

'Sounds good to me,' Robbie said from the drum-kit. 'Cat?'

'You wouldn't really kill him, would you, Jade?' Cat asked fearfully. Jade, who wasn't in a good mood, narrowed her eyes. 'That depends whether he finishes the song or not,' she said, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. Cat screamed, running upstairs to Tori's bedroom. Tori shoved Jade onto the couch. 'Cat! Get down here, she won't kill you!'

Cautiously, Cat reappeared on the top of the staircase.

'Okay, guys,' Andre said. 'Let's practice. One, two, three, go...!'

_**A/N**_**: You know what to do, read and review! **


	11. Transferred Schools

_**A/N:**_** Just letting ya know...this is a short chapter but the next one's longer! I'm actually really sad, this is the second to last chapter! :(**

**But...it's not over yet, so enjoy!**

Tori found herself truly awake when Cat practically attacked her, shrieking. 'Tori, Tori, Tori, Tori...guess what!'

Tori mumbled something incoherently, then said 'I dunno, Cat. School's getting new instruments?'

'No, silly,' Cat said, shaking her head. '_Marcus transferred schools_!'

Tori's eyes nearly popped out of her head. '_What_? Cat, did I hear you right...did you say that he's changed schools?'

Cat nodded, jumping up and down. 'To Chicago! He and his parents moved after your parents talked to him last Sunday! They moved yesterday!'

Tori gave a whoop and hi-fived her friend. 'Best news all week!'

'What's the best news all week?' Andre asked, coming round the corner towards his locker. Tori grinned, spinning round to face him. 'Marcus moved to Chicago!'

Jade seemed to appear out of nowhere, dragging Beck with her. 'Did I just hear you say that the biggest cheating, lying, foul, doosh-bag scum has moved to Chicago?'

Tori nodded, unable to stop smiling. Jade punched the air with her fist. Cat clapped eagerly. 'Lane said he moved to Chicago School of Talented Students!'

There was a dead silence in the group apart from Jade spitting out her coffee. '_What _did you say red head?'

Cat looked hurt. 'What's that supposed to mean?'

'Nothing!' Tori said hurriedly. 'Look, are you sure Lane said Chicago School of Talented Students?'

Cat nodded, glaring at Jade. 'Mm hm. He was talking to Marcus yesterday and Marcus said that the only way he could be against you was there.'

Tori groaned, leaning back onto the lockers. 'He's going to join the COPAS team and perform against us! And he's a strong performer...aw man, we're dead!'

'Not yet we're not,' Andre said, reaching into his locker. 'I finished "Just Listen" last night. We practice it as much as possible as well as our other two songs and we could nail this.'

'Wait,' Jade said. 'Marcus' heard us all sing _Make it Shine _a million times. He'll rattle off to CST. We should sing _Song2You _instead.'

Tori looked impressed. 'She has a point. Everyone knows _Song2You, _right?'

The others nodded. Jade shrugged. 'I'll improvise bass this afternoon.'

**VicTORIous suoIROTciV**

Five days passes even quicker than seven and before Tori knew it, they were practicing at every moment they could get and at an alarmingly fast rate, COPAS was approaching. Before she could even _think _about any other things to do with Hollywood Arts, for example the topic tests that they were having in all subjects, the fact that her mother was a month pregnant, wondering whether Andre liked her, Marcus going to face her...before she could consider acting on anything in that list, Tori was standing in the wings of an auditorium in New York, watching Chicago perform. Marcus shot a sneer smile into the wings before returning to the microphone to sing. Tori swore angrily, turning away. 'Andre,' she whispered. 'I don't know why I'm doing this now but, well...I just have to tell you.'

Andre looked at her in confusion. 'Um...Tori, you're not backing out on us are you? I mean...this is COPAS! And, I know you can hit that high note in the bridge of _Just Listen_. Tori, you're an incredible singer and I think you'll be great on stage...'

'It's not about COPAS!' Tori interrupted. 'It's about something else!'

'Well, we got two minutes until we're on stage but fire away.'

'I like you. A lot. I have a really long time now I have no idea why I'm saying this and I'm really stupid because there's absolutely _no _way you'll like me back but I'm just saying it now because I...'

Tori was cut off by Andre stepping forward and kissing her. He broke away and grinned. 'You'll be great, Tori,' he said quietly. 'I know you can sing these songs, I wrote them all. And as you know, I write all my songs for you.'

'Look,' Jade said, storming up to them. 'We can do the lovey dovey stuff later! We're on stage in one minute! Get geared up!'

Andre shot Tori another smile before stepping over to grab his guitar. Jade looked back and Tori. 'About time Vega!' she said, shaking her head.

From in front of the curtain, Mike Powell was shouting into the microphone as CST ran off stage.

'You'll never win,' Marcus said through his teeth as he passed Tori.

'Watch me,' Tori shot back, hurrying on stage. Mark Powell waited till the audience had stopped applauding and the yelled 'Please, now give a very warm welcome to Jade, Tori, Andre, Cat, Beck and Robbie performing for Hollywood Arts!'

As the curtain drew, Tori took a deep breath and began to sing.

_**A/N: **_**One more chapter to go...**


	12. Final Performace

_**A/N:**_** Very long chapter here, hope ya get through it! The two songs that aren't from Victorious are mine(: ENJOY!**

_I don't wear designer clothes_

_I don't go to the finest schools_

_But, I know..._

_I ain't no fool, baby._

_I may not be a star_

_I'm not driving the sickest car_

_But, I know..._

_I can make you happy, baby._

_I don't know what you been used to_

_Never been with a girl like you_

_But, I can give you a love that's true to_

_Your heart, not material things..._

_I'll give you my song_

_These words to you_

_Sing you what I feel_

_My soul is true._

_I don't have the world_

_Can't give it to you girl,_

_But all that I can do_

_Is give this song to you._

_(Na na na, na na na)_

_(Na na na, na na na)_

_Yeah, I know that you are blessed_

_But, there's something you're missing yet_

_Your own melody..._

_Oh, baby._

_I don't know what you been used to_

_Never been with a girl like you_

_But, I can give you a love that's true to_

_Your heart, not material things..._

_I'll give you my song_

_These words to you_

_Sing you what I feel_

_My soul is true._

_I don't have the world_

_Can't give it to you girl,_

_But all that I can do_

_Is give this song to you._

_(Na na na, na na na)_

_(Na na na, na na na)_

_I'll give you my heart, my song, my words; baby_

_What I can say, I'll sing it._

_Oh, Oooh, Oooooh._

_I'll give my song, these words, to you baby_

_Sing you what I feel, my soul is true._

_I'll give you my song_

_These words to you_

_Sing you what I feel_

_My soul is true._

_I don't have the world_

_Can't give it to you girl,_

_But all that I can do_

_Is give this song to you._

**VicTORIous suoIROTciV**

_Sometimes_

_when things are forced upon you_

_you got noone to turn to_

_you got nowhere to go_

_those times_

_when life feels like a circle_

_every step's a hurdle_

_and nothing's going right_

_you gotta rise up_

_to people's expectations_

_you're gonna meet brand new faces_

_the world's gonna mean _

_so much more_

_when you step out _

_of everything you're used to_

_you'll become brand new_

_and ready_

_to meet_

_the world_

_when life goes crazy_

_and you're still stuck in a daydream_

_cause you're afraid to face you know_

_life becomes so hectic_

_people's minds are so skeptical_

_things are unknown beyond home..._

_you gotta rise up_

_to people's expectations_

_you're gonna meet brand new faces_

_the world's gonna mean _

_so much more_

_when you step out _

_of everything you're used to_

_you'll become brand new_

_and ready_

_to meet_

_the world_

_life will be the biggest challenge_

_but you don't need to worry_

_you can handle it_

_cause you can do_

_anything you want_

_when a brick wall stands in your way_

_you can knock it down_

_any day_

_you got the strength, the mind set..._

_and you're gonna_

_you gotta rise up_

_to people's expectations_

_you're gonna meet brand new faces_

_the world's gonna mean _

_so much more_

_when you step out _

_of everything you're used to_

_you'll become brand new_

_and ready_

_to meet_

_the world_

**VicTORIous suoIROTciV**

_There's a road somewhere_

_Hidden but I need to get there_

_Before my world comes crumbling_

_down..._

_It's that lonely road_

_The one that pieces _

_my soul_

_Back together_

_The path that leads me_

_to you..._

_I gotta get to you before_

_You shut me outta your door_

_I know you_

_You gotta listen_

_My words are true!_

_Don't make the same mistake_

_Countless others _

_Have made_

_I know we're meant to be_

_Just wait_

_trust me_

_you'll see..._

_Can you hear out what've got to say_

_It doesn't just have to go my way_

_Let me make things right_

_before my road back home disappears into the night_

_I know_

_I was wrong_

_But the fault_

_Wasn't just made by me_

_We both played parts in this play_

_I gotta get to you before_

_You shut me outta your door_

_I know you_

_You gotta listen_

_My words are true!_

_Don't make the same mistake_

_Countless others _

_Have made_

_I know we're meant to be_

_Just wait_

_trust me_

_you'll see..._

_Can you hear out what've got to say_

_It doesn't just have to go my way_

_Let me make things right_

_before my road back home disappears into the..._

_The stars are still out there_

_Just like the first time we met_

_On the fateful road that night_

_The night that changed my life!_

_Anyone can see_

_That I love you and you love me..._

_Can we go back to the start?_

_So I can mend my broken heart!_

_Don't make the same mistake_

_Countless others _

_Have made_

_I know we're meant to be_

_Just wait_

_trust me_

_you'll see..._

_Can you hear out what've got to say_

_It doesn't just have to go my way_

_Let me make things right_

_before my road back home disappears into the night_

_Don't make the same mistake_

_Countless others _

_Have made_

_I know we're meant to be_

_Just wait_

_trust me_

_you'll see..._

_Can you hear out what've got to say_

_It doesn't just have to go my way_

_Let me make things right_

_before my road back home disappears into the night_

_...I don't need my road home...anymore..._

**VicTORIous suoIROTciV**

Finishing with a strum of D, Andre looked over to Tori who opened her eyes and breathed out with relief. The curtain closed on them and everyone heard Mark Powell yell into the microphone 'Give another round of applause for Hollywood Arts!'

Tori hugged Andre tightly. 'We did it!' she squealed. 'I can't believe we did all of it without a single mistake!'

'And you got it!' Jade said in an excited whisper. 'You got the final note in the bridge of _Just Listen_! Tori, we told you that you could do it!'

'Thank you guys so much!' Tori said, surprising Jade with a hug.

'You're still not good enough,' Marcus said, folding his arms from the wings. Andre shrugged. 'We'll let the judges be the decide of that, cheating scum.'

Marcus just turned and walked away.

'It's because he hasn't got a comeback,' Cat said, once again stating the obvious. Tori couldn't help but laugh, hugging her eccentric friend. 'Oh boy, let's just hope we were good enough!'

'We were!' Beck said in assurance. 'Right Mr. Epic-Drum-Solo?'

They all turned to Robbie who looked embarrassed but very pleased. Tori nodded. 'Robbie, he's right! That drum solo was out of this world!'

Everyone was given the shock of their lives when Cat skipped up to Robbie and kissed him. Tori blinked and then rubbed her eyes. 'Did that just happen?' she asked Andre who nodded, his mouth ajar in shock.

Mark's voice could be heard through the curtain. 'Now, can all contestants please come on stage?'

Nervously, Tori followed her friends in front of the curtain and saw the massive crowd that she had tried to avoid looking at while performing.

'Now,' Mark said, smiling at everyone. 'Judges' results are in my hand...' He opened the envelope and Tori felt Andre's hand curl around hers. His palms were sweaty in anxiety. Glancing to her side, Tori heard Jade whispering a prayer. Mark glanced at the results for a moment. 'In third place, with a prize of $2 000, New York School of the Arts!' There was a round of clapping.

'In second place, with a prize of $5 000...San Francisco School for the Talented!'

Another round of polite clapping.

'Now! The result you've all been waiting for...according to judges' notes it was very close between two equally amazing schools but the ones that stood out with team-work, talent and from where the judges' were standing, looking like they enjoyed themselves the most, the winners are...oh, and just to remind schools, the team out of these two just now mentioned who _doesn't _win, will get a prize of $5 000 as well...'

'Just announce it!' all the remaining schools chorused. Mark laughed. 'Okay, okay! The winners of the tenth Competition of Performing Arts Schools, receiving $10 000 and new instruments for the performers are...'

There was such a silence that you could hear a pin drop in the auditorium.

'...Hollywood Arts School!'

There was a deafening applause and Tori unfroze, her eyes wide. They'd won? They'd actually..._won_? They couldn't have...But her hopes were confirmed when her friends gathered around her, screaming and yelling 'WE DID IT! WE WON!' and Andre kissed her again and Jade and Cat both hugged her and the audience chanted the schools' name and Marcus was staring at them with such a look of despise on his face, Tori couldn't help but laugh. Suddenly, all the worries, exams, whether Andre liked her not, even her mother's pregnancy...all things that seemed to bring her down disappeared and Tori was pushed forward to accept the giant check and the trophy that had TENTH ANNUAL COPAS WINNERS engraved on it.

'Encore!' the audience was shouting. 'Another song! Hollywood Arts should perform something else!'

Tori looked to her friends, a broad grin on her face.

'Make it Shine?' Andre asked over the screaming. The others nodded and running back to their instruments, they started to play.

_Here I am_

_Once again_

_Feeling lost but now and then_

_I breathe it in_

_To let it go_

_And you don't know_

_Where you are now_

_What it would come to_

_If only somebody could hear_

_When you figure out how_

_You're lost in the moment_

_You disappear..._

_You don't have to be afraid_

_To put your dreams in action_

_You're never gonna fade_

_You'll be the main attraction_

_Not a fantasy_

_Just remember me_

_When it turns out right_

_Cause you know that if your live in_

_Your imagination_

_Tomorrow you'll_

_Be everybody's fascination_

_In my victory_

_Just remember me_

_When I make it shine_

_Reaching high feeling low_

_I'm holding on and letting go_

_I like to shine I'll shine for you_

_And it's time to_

_Show the world how_

_It's a little bit closer_

_As long as I'm ready to go_

_All we have is right now_

_As long as you feel it inside you know_

_You don't have to be afraid_

_To put your dream in action_

_Your never gonna fade_

_You'll be the main attraction_

_Not a fantasy_

_Just remember me_

_When it turns out right_

_Cause you know that if you live in_

_Your imagination_

_Tomorrow you'll_

_Be everybody's fascination_

_In my victory_

_Just remember me_

_When I make it shine_

_Everyone can tell you how_

_It's all been said and done_

_That harder times can change your mind_

_And make you wanna run_

_But you want it_

_And you need it_

_Like you need to breathe the air_

_If they doubt you_

_Just believe it_

_That's enough to get you there_

_You don't have to be afraid_

_To put your dream in action_

_Your never gonna fade_

_You'll be the main attraction_

_Not a fantasy_

_Just remember me_

_When it turns out right_

_Cause you know that if you live in_

_Your imagination_

_Tomorrow you'll_

_Be everybody's fascination_

_In my victory_

_Just remember me_

_When I make it shine!_

**F I N**

_**A/N: **_**OMG. That was the last chapter! I'm so sad but also really relieved! Thank you to everyone who's been reading and reviewing! Luv you all and I want your opinion: should I write a sequel or something? **

**Did you luv the story, h8 it, was it ok? But I hope you enjoyed(: **

**chimi a.k.a cavlik97**


	13. Author's Note About Sequel

_**A/N:**_** KAY JUST LETTING YA GUYS KNOW! the sequel to this story is called Facing Family!**


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